The Chicago Bears enter the 2025 league year with an abundance of resources, a promising quarterback entering Year 2 and a head coach whose approval rating in town is off the charts.

General manager Ryan Poles’ record in three seasons is 15-36 with one fired head coach, but he got another swing at that, and can attack the offseason and build a contender for 2025 alongside Ben Johnson.

The Bears went 5-12 last season, which included mystifying losses, a franchise-record losing streak and a quarterback who was sacked way too often. However, the roster is not that far away from taking a big jump in Johnson’s first season. The Bears began the offseason with plenty of salary-cap space and three picks in the top 41 selections of April’s draft. Caleb Williams is going to have several new faces in the huddle with him, to go along with a new coach in his ear calling plays.

Poles kicked things off with two trades for starting guards, not waiting until free agency to begin fortifying the group tasked with protecting Williams.

This post will be updated as roster moves are made during free agency, so check back often.

Bears additions

Still available (from The Athletic’s Top 150 list)

DT Chris Williams gets RFA tender

March 12: Defensive tackle Chris Williams received the right-of-first-refusal tender from the Bears as a restricted free agent. That’s worth $3.26 million for the 2025 season, though none of it is guaranteed. A team could sign Williams to an offer sheet if they want and not have to give up any draft pick compensation, but that’s a pretty good salary for Williams, who was acquired last August via trade from Cleveland. Williams set career-high marks in games played (17), tackles (23), sacks (three) and QB hits (seven). He should be able to provide depth on the interior as a rotational pass rusher.

C Coleman Shelton returns to L.A.

March 11: Coleman Shelton, last year’s starting center, agreed on a two-year deal with the Rams, per a league source. Shelton, who competed with Ryan Bates throughout the spring after signing a one-year deal, started every game at center and missed only 13 snaps all season. When the Bears signed Drew Dalman, they got their new starting center, though they could’ve looked at Shelton as a backup option. They do still have Bates under contract, along with Ricky Stromberg but may also look to the draft for another backup on the interior.

Long snapper is back

March 11: The Bears are re-signing Scott Daly to a one-year deal, NFL Network first reported. Daly stepped in last year as the team’s long snapper after Patrick Scales suffered a back injury. Daly played in all 17 games, and he also spent the 2021-23 seasons in Detroit, overlapping with Johnson. This marks the end of Scales’ time with the Bears. He had been the longest-tenured player, first joining the team in 2015.

Swing tackle Larry Borom off to Miami

March 10: Borom agreed to a deal with the Dolphins, per NFL Network, after four seasons with the Bears. He started 27 games since 2021, when he was Ryan Pace’s fifth-round pick. Borom has been a backup at both tackle spots and even has stepped in at guard. It seemed his time in Chicago would come to an end with a new regime and after several injuries, but he played out his rookie contract. Now he gets a fresh start along with another former Bears draft pick, James Daniels, who also agreed to a deal with the Dolphins.

S Tarvarius Moore returning

March 10: The Bears announced that they signed Moore to a one-year contract extension. Moore appeared in 11 games last season, playing 185 snaps on special teams. He made seven tackles. Moore was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round in 2018.

DE Darrell Taylor heads to Houston

March 10: Taylor, the Bears’ No. 3 defensive end from 2024, agreed to a one-year contract with the Texans, according to NFL Network. Poles acquired Taylor via trade from Seattle at the end of the preseason, and he got off to quite the start with two sacks in Week 1, but he had only one other sack the rest of the season. Taylor would’ve returned only as a rotational edge rusher. Right now, that’s Austin Booker, but the Bears could keep adding at defensive end.

Grady Jarrett big addition on defensive line

March 10: The Bears agreed to terms with defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, according to a league source, reportedly on a three-year, $43.5 million contract. The team acted fast to lock in Jarrett. The Falcons released Jarrett, a two-time Pro Bowler, on Monday before the negotiation window opened. Hours later, the news broke that the Bears were adding Jarrett. He will be expected to improve the Bears’ defensive line, especially their interior pass rush. Jarrett spent 10 years with the Falcons. His best season came in 2019 when he had a career-best 7 1/2 sacks and earned Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors.

Bears get their edge rusher: Dayo Odeyingbo

March 10: After bulking up the offensive line, the Bears got their high-priced edge rusher in Odeyingbo, 25, who is coming off a three-sack, 17-QB hit season for the Colts. Those 17 QB hits would’ve ranked second on the 2024 Bears behind Gervon Dexter. Odeyingbo has the size we know defensive coordinator Dennis Allen prefers — 6-foot-6, 286 pounds. With his reported contract ($16 million per year), Odeyingbo slots in as the starter opposite Montez Sweat. He also had 17 QB hits and a career-high eight sacks in 2023. Odeyingbo hasn’t missed a game in the past three seasons and has two forced fumbles in each of the past two seasons. This should also help the Bears not feel pressed to take an edge rusher in the first round. Next up? Defensive tackle.

Bears land Falcons center Drew Dalman

March 10: The Bears agreed to terms on a three-year, $42 million deal with Dalman as the team continued its overhaul of the offensive line, per sources. Dalman will play between new guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson, who were acquired last week in trades. Dalman was one of the top free agents despite playing in only nine games last season because of an ankle injury. So there is some risk involved. But he’s an experienced center who should help quarterback Caleb Williams.

Bears re-sign DB Josh Blackwell

March 6: Set to be a restricted free agent, Blackwell returns to the Bears on a two-year deal worth up to $6 million, a league source confirmed. That’s a nice contract to reward the team’s top special teamer. Blackwell’s punt-return touchdown in Week 18 against the Packers earned him special teams player of the week honors. He’s been a productive gunner since joining the team in 2022 off waivers and has stepped in nicely as a backup slot corner when needed.

Bears keep LB Amen Ogbongbemiga

March 6: Another special teams move, Ogbongbemiga was one of the core players for Richard Hightower’s unit in his first season with Chicago. He also signed a two-year deal, per NFL Network. He had five special teams tackles and six assists, plus a sack on defense.

Adding a No. 2 TE in Durham Smythe

March 6: Johnson’s Lions were third in the NFL in the percentage of plays run in 12 personnel (two tight ends). Smythe, who played at Notre Dame in 2017 with Cole Kmet, reunites with his former college teammate to complement him in Chicago, NFL Network reported. He also was a rookie with the Dolphins in 2018 when Johnson was their wide receivers coach.

Joe Thuney brings significant upgrade to line

March 5: The Bears haven’t had an offensive lineman named first-team All-Pro since 2006. Enter Thuney, who’s done it two years in a row with the Chiefs. He comes to Chicago with four Super Bowl rings, experience with two of the greatest quarterbacks and head coaches to ever do it and brings leadership the line needs.

Jonah Jackson, Ben Johnson reunion

March 4: Poles’ first major move of the offseason was to send a sixth-round pick to the Rams to take a chance with Jackson, who is set to make $17.5 million this season after playing in only four games in 2024. Jackson overlapped with Johnson in Detroit, where he made a Pro Bowl in 2021, so there’s trust in Johnson for this move to happen.